


AKA Sameen Shaw

by wolfwars



Category: Person of Interest (TV)
Genre: Child Abuse, Drug Abuse, F/F, an au, child abuse mentions, drug abuse mentions i guess, sexual abuse mentions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-16
Updated: 2015-12-16
Packaged: 2018-05-07 00:57:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,557
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5437514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wolfwars/pseuds/wolfwars
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A root/shaw AU, with Marvel's Jessica Jones!!!</p>
            </blockquote>





	AKA Sameen Shaw

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! This may have been a horrible idea but I'm not sure yet! definitely full of angst and I had a weird amount of fun writing it. 
> 
> Anyway, enjoy!

 

 

 AKA Sameen Shaw

 

“Sameen? You didn’t tell me the orphan’s name was Sameen! That’s way too similar to my Sam.” Sameen watched her new foster mom fighting outside of the car and then looked outside the window to where the camera lights were flashing in the distance and she knew the decision had probably already been made for them. 

The woman looked at her, mouth turned downwards into a grimace then tapped at the glass with her long nails like a kid tapping on a fish tank.

“Come here.” 

Shaw stepped out of the car, her boots clunking onto the ground. She didn’t look up, she didn’t want to but the woman’s thin fingers lifted her chin up until her eyes _had_ to look back.

“Its time to meet your new sister.” The woman’s long nails wrapped around her arms and dragged her off, soon Shaw was being brushed past a row of paparazzi to where another girl, closer to her age, waited in the crowd.

And its not like Sameen, like everyone else, didn’t already recognize her by her face, or her _damn_ theme song that seemed to blare on the inside of every mall, _It’s Sammy! Sammy! Sammy!_ And the girl turned to look at her with a forced smile on her lips, the whole crowd of screaming fans and newscasters and paparazzi binding them together into one big, unfortunate family.  

“Hello—“ the woman forced the words out, “ _Sameen_. Welcome to our family!”

The woman wrapped her arms around Shaw in something that didn’t feel much like a hug then she saw her gesture for Samantha Groves, the world’s best known child star, to do the same.

“ _Are you serious, Mom?”_ Sam Groves whispered so only the three of them could hear.

“Sssh, darling.” The woman’s head snapped back up and she showed off both her girls with a proud smile, “The Samantha Groves family has just gotten a little bigger! I’d like to welcome you all to take as many photos and ask as many questions as you’d like.”

 

Everyone said she was just in shock. That Sameen Shaw wouldn’t be able to ‘adjust’ and ‘act like a regular, normal teenage girl’ until she was settled in and rehomed with somebody stable and _loving_. They’d really pushed on that point, the loving part.

 

_‘She’d been there when her Father died after all! Stuck in the car with him… can you imagine?’_  

‘ _And then she’d asked for a sandwich. Why did you do that, Sameen? Hmmmm?’_

 

There were so many questions but of course the truth was lost somewhere where Sameen didn’t know where to find it.

She just knew she didn’t feel much about it. 

 

Or about anything really.

 

 

——————-

 

 

“You could have used the front door.”

Sameen stuffs her cold hands into the pockets of her black hoody. 

“I wasn't sure you'd answer. It's important.”

Root toys with her own pockets before appearing closer to the glass and laying her head on its side. Her eyes watch Shaw wistfully as they always had, even when they were kids, then she opens the door and shifts even closer. “Must be.”

“It's for a case.”

“Right.”

She pulls the door until it’s completely open and gestures for Shaw to come in. 

The digs were nice, a lot nicer than Shaw was used to seeing and this was in prime real estate in New York City. 

Probably the perks of being the ever-so-famous ‘Sammy Groves’ gig and not just Root’s podcast and radio show: ‘The Machine’ (airing every Thursday at 8pm!!! ‘Realtime with Root!!!!!’ Shaw had seen enough billboards plastered with Root’s face on them to have the image of her in mind, mouth hovering onto her little snowball microphone and a big, knowing ‘Root’ smile on her lips.)  

This Root, six months later Root, was calmer than she expected. Her body looked slow and relaxed leaning against one of her expensive counters with both her palms gripping it behind her. She wore an expensive silk robe that Shaw had never seen before and she looked good or something, like she’d been working out or tanning or whatever superstar stuff Root was pulling this week.

“You became a private eye.” Root says. 

Shaw shouldn’t be surprised Root would pay to have her  _watched_  but its a little insulting.

Shaw raises an eyebrow, “You’ve been keeping tabs on me?”

Root’s fingers twist and she places them under her chin, eyes watching Shaw’s every move as the super strengthened girl paces around her fancy apartment, on edge. There’s also an edge to Root’s ‘watching’ like she’s either going to slap Shaw across the face or lock her inside the apartment and _not let her leave_. That also makes Shaw even more pace-y.

“Making sure you weren't dead, since you never called,” Root adds, voice tightening. And there’s the classic Root’s Mom-isms popping out, the use of guilt to make Shaw act accordingly in the way the Grove family _wants_ her too. Shaw’s never been particularly good at following other peoples’ orders. Except for _one_ person.  And that's why she's here.

“I need money.” Shaw says.

“There’s that candid Sameen Shaw I’ve come to know and—”

“ _Root_ ,” Shaw warns. There’s not a lot of time. She feels tense even being here when it could bring him to her. To the one person she’s been bothering to try and protect.

“I don’t hear from you for months, six months actually, and—”

“I needed breathing room.” 

“ _You shut me out."_ Root says angrily. Her eyes scan up and down Shaw and she looks and sounds more hurt than she let on earlier. The real pain comes out and it makes Shaw uncomfortable and her throat feel thick… “And now you show up here… asking for money?”

She didn't realize how insulting it was until now. Root's face looks  _extra_ hurt if that’s possible. Like the time Shaw came in and found her with big bruises across her eyes and a bleeding forehead… her Mom thought the best means of punishment was to beat her on the head with her Children’s Choice Trophy. And this is just hurting her more, now Shaw's the one making her upset and this all feels like such a big mistake.

She’s right. She’s right, she’s right—Shaw turns around and her boot smacks against one of the glass chair legs. She’s an idiot. 

“This was a bad idea,” she chokes out, trying to reach for the door.

 

_But_

 

Root’s wrapping a hand around her shoulder.

“No, No—you talk to me! You tell me what the hell is so important.”

_More important than me_ she means.

Shaw swallows and then disentangles herself from the girl’s hands. Root moves back, looking lost and scared again and that’s the last thing Shaw wanted her to feel.

 

“He’s back.”

 

 

—————

 

Samantha Groves was on about fifty different prescriptions on any given week. In the morning her Mother gave her uppers, leaving two different pills by a glass of orange juice to kill the morning appetite. Sameen watches her new step-sis take them every morning with no questions asked. Then the corresponding downers at noon, so she’s not too unfocused or out of control. Control seems to be the basis of this household.

And then the downers make her _even quieter_ because Sameen’s sure she’s only heard this girl say one to four words a day and everything else is running lines or crying quietly in the bathroom or putting makeup on the bruises on her arm.

Which has Sameen asking herself… _how the hell did she get saddled here?_ Did all child services just turn a blind eye to anyone famous? 

Sameen watches the girl’s slender throat as the pills swallow down and she sips quietly on her orange juice. It also makes Sameen feel bad because she has only been eating more and more since coming here (foster homes weren’t as generous food wise as _this_ place is) and every morning she’s scarfing down pancakes, eggs and bacon while already as 'thin as a ballerina on a juice cleanse' Groves is watching her with a careful gaze.  

“Don’t forget your scarf, Sammy.” She hears Mrs. Groves say through the doorway.

Groves reaches behind her to wrap a scarf around to cover the fresh marks of her neck, her eyes flit again to Sameen’s face. Curious and less dulled than usual, maybe the uppers are kicking in. Sameen slides her a piece of toast but it's ignored. Which is really stupid because its not like Sameen’s used to trying to take care of others. Hey! Who’s the abandoned car wreck orphan and who’s the ridiculously rich and famous child star here? 

“Sure you don’t want anything, Sam?” she asks, half-teasing and voice lilted with the way she says her own name. The girl’s eyes widen and she stands up, wrapping the scarf even tighter around her neck with thin, pale fingers. 

“ _Root_ ,” she grits out, under breath. “I want to be called Root.” 

Sameen’s too startled to reply so she just watches her new step-sister walk out the door and back into her life of rehearsing shitty TV scripts.

But she’s kinda impressed because she didn’t know the girl had _any backbone_. But maybe she just proved she kinda did.

 

—————

 

“Hey, turns out I’m free Happy Hour. And it must be 5 o'clock somewhere…” Shaw heads outta the office, her brief case hitting every single desk as she walks past. She’s getting too old for this shit. 

“What?” Root’s busy voice asks. Shaw can hear the bustling of papers on table tops and she’s guessing its notes for whatever _The Machine_ ’s latest show is gonna be.

“Let’s just say, I need to update my resume. Would you put day drinking under ‘Experience' or ‘Special Skills’?” Shaw teases. She slams the office door behind her for good measure.

“My bar or yours?” Root asks back, amused.

 

Turns out 'neither of their bars' is just fine. Shaw’s already three drinks in by the time her busy step-sister can show up still in her work clothes and kind of looking like a bore in a pantsuits and glasses, her hands holding a briefcase that Shaw already knows contains her laptop and all of her editing software. Root's probably better at Pro Tools than any other intern or editor in her office and she's always the one doing finishing touches onto the last of their mp3 files before uploading it to 'The Machine's' site.

Root smiles at her and then leans down to lay a hand on top of hers which Shaw’s still not quite used to.

“What was it this time, sweetie?” Root whispers into the shell of her ear.

Shaw’s back straightens up almost immediately. 

“Let’s go play _Love Tester_. I think we’d make a great match," Root says then her lip’s quirk up into a suggestive smile. She hasn’t really bothered to ask about Shaw being fired but Shaw’s fired about once a day now.  Root offered her a job once but Shaw's pretty sure she'd be  _too distracted_ in a work place environment that has a Root in it.

“I’m kinda busy right now,” Shaw replies. 

“Not busy enough.” There’s that smile again and Shaw wants to punch her but also kinda wants to take her up on her stupidly incestous offer. 

Its been all flirting lately and its kinda messing with her head because Shaw’s surprised to say it…but there might just be a part of her that wants to take her step-sister up on it.

Maybe more than just a part. 

 

“Hey! I know you!” 

 

They both look up, somehow broken outta the incest trance, and at ‘some guy’ who has decided to edge himself in between them and ogle at Root.

“I watched your show—It's Sammy! Sammy! I really wanna be your friend!”

 

_Ugh_.

 

Root tears her eyes away from Shaw but she looks pissed and instead of destroying this tiny man in front of the whole bar, she simply bats her eyelashes at him and says, “That was a long time ago.”

_Get the picture, Jerk?_

He laughs.

“I learned a lot from Sammy.” 

“Not enough,” Shaw mutters. 

“‘Uh huh,” adds a disbelieving Root. 

“Sammy taught me how to hold a remote with one hand, and box the bald-headed bishop with the other.”

He tries to touch Root but she catches his hand before he can, pushing into it hard, “No one touches me anymore,” her eyes then flicker meaningful to Shaw’s, “Unless I want them to.”

This is _so_ beyond subtle.

Shaw swallows then changes the subject by challenging dumb-guy to one of the bar games.

Shaw _destroys_ him at the strength game and doesn’t feel bad about it at all. Root watches her, lips quirked up into a smile the whole time and she’s pretty sure this is how life should go _forever_. Conning dumb idiot bros outta their not-so-hard earned cash and impressing Root with her awesome ability to _cheat_.

 

 

—————

 

_♪ It's Sammy! Sammy! I really wanna be your friend ♪_

 

Shaw covers her ears and walks along the set to her ‘sister’s’ waiting room so she can get the hell outta here as fast as possible. There’s camera crew guys all over the place and they’re all huddled around a set straight outta Barbie’s Fantasy Play House or whatever. 

But some of the guys are kinda nice she guesses. Better than this rich, wacko family she’s stuck with or the reporters who shove cameras straight into her face and ask her the _most brutal_ questions everyday:

‘I bet you just loveeeee living with Sammy! Don’t you? What’s it like to have the most amazing sister on Earth?’ 

Or ‘How does it feel to lose your Father in a _car crash_ and then go move into a wonderful mansion with the Groves?’

Feels like having your leg caught in a bear trap, Mr. Reporter guy. Shaw’s done with all that bullshit but she has found out one new kinda awesome thing about herself in this life…

She’s got super powers. Real bonafide fucking super strength super power. And it’s really weird.

 

She has no idea where it comes from at all. It was _bestowed on her_ like she’s a magical fairy princess goddess of kicking righteous ass! 

Too bad she lives with the most shamelessly fame-sucking woman on the planet or she’d be showing off every single minute of the day and not just to her geeky, famous step-sister. That was the funny thing about Root is that she literally thought everything Shaw did or said was the _coolest_ thing on the planet. Shaw talked back? Awesome! Shaw could lift a car into the air with one hand? Even better! 

Root looked at her like she was Superwoman no matter what she did. 

 

Shaw knocks on the door that says ‘Sammy Groves’ and even though it _should_ be one of the nicest offices in the whole film production set, it’s nothing compared to the pent house that is Mrs. Groves’ on set room. But still, it has a velvety Sammy Groves TV show logo-ed couch and pictures all over the walls, its own bathroom and mini-kitchen that’s full of absolutely no food since ‘Sammy Groves’ can’t eat. 

 

Root though…

 

Root pokes her head through the door, as she always does until she finally sees its Sameen and relaxes, letting the door open slightly.  

“Sameen?” Her small voice asks. She’s always so surprised to know someone would actually bother to come see her and not just bark orders at her for production means.

Shaw can see her eyes are slightly hooded too, real sleepy and slow like she’s had to take more downers than usual and it actually sorta makes Shaw feel a little crazy with anger. 

“Letmein pipsqueak,” Shaw shoves her foot through the door and wedges in with no problem. But with super strength _like hers,_ literallynothing is a problem.

 

Except her whole entire life.

 

She throws the bag of food on the table then sticks her boots onto the end table facing a big screen with flashing images of ‘Sammy Groves’ in her prop house.

“Good work out there, sucker.” Sucker’s affectionate in this case. She’s called her Rootie, Goodie Two Shoes and sometimes Sucker or whatever else pops into her head and seems remotely funny. 

Root half-smiles (the best of a smile you can get outta her sad face) then props up next to her, not lifting her feet up but sitting very close to Shaw as she nibbles on a cheese burger. Shaw passes her a few fries and their hands connect for longer than they should. And Shaw’s hands are all greasy from fries so she feels bad.

“Mother told me it was awful,” she looks away and Shaw can see how bummed she is. Its constant ‘you’re not good enough’ speeches from Mrs. Groves and Shaw thinks that’s bullshit.

“Fuck her! You were amazing!”

Root chews a fry and gets that dumb, sappy look in her eyes again.

“You know…” Shaw says, “You don’t really seem to like this very much…”

“But my Mother always told me to follow my talents,” Root replies, bitter.

“Yeah, but what about other talents?”

“We don’t all have super strength, Sam.” 

“Well your Mom’s got a talent for being a super bit—” 

 

The door opens and it’s Mrs. Groves herself. Shaw snaps her mouth shut even though she’s _totally_ not afraid of her (although okay she kinda is.) 

Root gapes then jumps up, fries going everywhere.

 

“Mom!” 

 

Shaw watches as Root leaves and hears the shouting from inside the office.

 

_Or what! You’ll fire me?_

 

_Or… you wouldn’t want this to end up like your friend Hanna all over again, would you honey?_

 

Shaw leans against the door confused and unsure of what that means— but she sees her friend’s face falter and her body move back like she’s just been stung.

Mrs. Groves marches off, heels clacking across the floor with sharp hits and then Root’s wiping at her eyes.

The whole thing is…

 

This needs to be stopped. And she’s pretty sure she’s the only one who can stop it.

 

——————

 

They don’t grow up saying ‘I love you’ or ‘I need you’, no instead everything they do says it for them. The way Shaw leaves all of Root’s favorite things around their apartment or buys her gifts that she can’t really afford to buy or when she sneaks in right at the end of her radio show with a bottle of wine to share and look out at the city together.

Or, when she works double time for Hogarth just to pull her weight because she doesn’t want to live off of her sister’s money because it somehow feels wrong. Because she doesn’t want to ‘use’ _The_ ‘Sammy Groves’ like everybody else does.  

 

But when Kilgrave’s takes her… 

When Kilgrave’s finds her in that alley, saving someone’s life and makes her step under the lamplights.

“You’re beautiful.” He whispers and it feels familiar even as he looks at her and shapes her into a thing for him.

A girl with dresses, who loves his favorite food and his favorite music and his favorite sexual positions. Her whole body sings with agreement to his every command and word even while every part of Sameen Shaw’s brain protests. 

 

No, no, no, no.

 

She didn’t mean to ‘leave’ her step-sister but things happen. People change and are broken and remade.

 

So later on, when a boy you've never met before offers you a free drink in his bar you take it. 

 

Because it feels like freedom. 

 

(And she hadn’t tasted freedom in _a long time._ )

 

——————

 

 

_‘I can protect you. I can protect you from Kilgrave.’_

 

_‘I was never the hero you wanted me to be.’_

 

Shaw closes her eyes then flexes her fingers back and forth. They’re still sore from the fight and Kilgrave’s face sits in her mind and so do all the terrible, terrible things she’s done with him and for him. She remembers everything and on most days she just begs herself to _forget_.

She just wants it to be over. 

Her heart beats faster and faster until she feels a set of fingers touch her face and then brush her hair back.

 

_Root_.

 

Root leans over her and hums something soft and quiet and watches her like she’s about to spring out of the bed and run away like always. 

“Root,” she whispers. 

“Do you remember?” Root asks. Suddenly urgent. 

And she does. 

“Yes.” 

Their first kiss was sort of like this. Back when they were young and scared and Root knew exactly how she felt about ‘her Sameen’ but Shaw had never known how she’d felt back. It was like this and not like this at the same time. Root was the one who was hurt and her Mother was hurt (in return) by Shaw. Root, the only family she had left on this Earth, kissed her passionately and said _I love you, Sameen_.

 

Root places a kiss on her forehead but then lingers. 

Their noses brush. Shaw inhales sharply and it hurts her injured ribs.

It’s quiet all around them except for their breathing and really-bad-idea longing. Root wipes more of her hairs away and then says, “I’m so tired of missing you.” 

 

Shaw’s tired too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
